Clarry

My colleagues and I in the public sector (education), would not protest if there was a "cost of living" pay-freeze on certain wage levels over a few years. It would be preferable to cutting sevices, but a drop in the ocean overall. The Unions wouldn't like it.

Well the "city" are certainly happy. My girlfriend works in wine bar near Bank (the sort of place that nobody pays in cash). She only took £300 per lunchtime Monday and Tuesday, but £1,600 yesterday, mostly in champagne. At least she keeps the service charge to top-up her minimum wage.

Not for me.

I think that Cameron has got the natural logic behind him to be allowed to have a go at being Leader of a Tory Gov't and therefore PM.

I don't think any of them should form formal coalitions with anyone else, I'd rather there be a minority Gov't, reigned in by the need to get support on a case by case basis from other parites

Absolutely what I think too.

Can we really complain about understaffed Polling Stations when it is voluntary work? Paid, yes, but voluntary. An example of "Big Society" not working?

Ridiculous to run out of ballot papers though.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/england/8663681.stm?ls

To be fair, even if it wasn't the BNP, anybody who spits in my face would get the same!

Agreed, they obviously couldn't muster up a decent debate so decide to phlegm, disgusting

There's more people gobbing in the street, in general, now. Not pleasant at all.

I would have made the Sicilian cuckold horns with my right hand as an insult to them.

I was only spoiling my ballot anyway.

.

One of the blokes I work with was going to send a spoilt ballot by postal vote because he's too lazy to walk to the Polling Station. He forgot to post it, so walked to the Polling Station anyway and handed it in this morning, the daft sod.

Anyone that spits should be strung up, Nothing makes me angrier, personally.

Racism makes me angrier.

I'm in a safe Labour seat. For the vote to swing to Lib Dem would be quite something, but you never know with Labour fielding a new candidate after the incumbent's retirement.

I'm likely to vote Lib Dem because of their policies on PR, Trident, State and Religion and ID cards.

Labour have annoyed me with their civil liberties infringements. They've basically done the dirty work for the Conservatives, known for their authoritarianism (yes I know they're against ID cards, but watch this space).

Cuts will happen whoever gets in; it will effect me to some extent, but I've never voted for my own job security or what is in my pocket at the end of the month.

Hence, I think pay freezes for people over a certain wage could alleviate cuts in essential services. But that would also have to go hand with freezes in other things like rent increases and road tax increases, for example. As temporary measures while some money is clawed back, obviously.

There also needs to be a halt in this Private v Public worker slagging match, which is entirely artificial. There are many lazy, overpaid, and unneccesary workers in both sectors, just as there are many underpaid, industrious and neccesary workers.

Maybe I'm being naïve but the country belongs to all of us and we can all do something about it.

and Swedish cinema will be bought back down with the seemingly rushed played with fire/hornets nest

Played with .... very good....made for cinema

Fire/Hornets nest ....not very good (but I enjoyed them still)....made for TV

I decided backing Labour would be a way of rounding out my balance, so have £2.63 on them, returns £89 odd. Come on Labour!

i'm sure in the long run a labour victory will more than eat into your £87 odd profit and you will end up losing :winkold:

But if we all put a fiver on, we can return the winnings to the government as a gift.

from Belize

Immigrants have flooded the Labour market, keeping wages for real "working class" people artificially low.

But isn't this the "free" market?

It's not a economic disaster, so be real please.

Moving abroad has never looked so tempting................

But, where to if the situation is global?

Oh, and they wouldn't have run a policy of unrestricted immigration to try and change the cultural make up of our country for no reason other than left wing student ideology.

I thought you were off abroad to be an immigrant yourself?

The Greeks don't look very good at this rioting malarkey.

I'm sure a few of the army generals will be willing to step in and give them a hand when things really heat up; military coup, expulsion from the euro, default on their debts. It will be like having our very own argentina in our (eu) backyard.

So basically a return to Greece in the 60s and 70s?

New Zealand. What do you expect?

NZ site with the story but indications are that the happy couple are actually from Indiana (insert rolly eyes, should have known, only in America gif).

I originally thought it was a "future" piece on Britian under the LibDems...or Corydon today.

New Zealand. What do you expect?

Education has improved under New-Labour, a lot has improved under Labour, and I'm not deluded to think they have got everything right. Kidlewis - I agree with you, children who are active in their education should be given more advantages and incentives to further their knowledge, I have nothing against that. But you must remember society is much more complex and diverse than a certain sect of people, I believe every level of Education should be developed and progressed over time, yes it takes time to implement big changes and I believe Labour will deliver more for the majority of people than a Tory Government will.

Agree with both you and kidlewis.

Pupils need help from both top and bottom of educational needs. And don't forget the "average" pupils either.

The company I work for does a lot of work for the local PCTs and in March they were spending money hand over fist, why because they need to use up all their budgets. Some of the stuff was a feckin disgrace I tell you.

The next government should freeze everyone in the public sectors spending on Feb 28th and then let them only spend 1/11th of what they have spent that in that financial year I wonder how much would be left over.

I agree with a freeze, but not if the budget is then cut next year. There should be "breathing space".

We have to hand back money not spent in Lambeth which is fine. And there was a spending freeze too, but I suspect this was to stop going over-budget.

A bit of an annoyance though is being donated money for education research, then having to hand that back too, if not spent. It cannot be carried over and deducted from other costs the next year.

what do anti tory people think rich is? what is the personal wealth of someone who is rich in this country?

isn't the average wage £28k or something? so to be rich IMO you need to be earning in excess of £100k to be considered rich.

That's the problem with using averages and measuring "gaps" and statistics in general. It's made too simple by people who know nothing about figures (or enough to manipluate them) but a sensible voice is shouted down. But that's for another thread.

If the average wage is 28K then there are an awful, awful lot of people below it. I don't mind admitting I'm a little over the average wage and people outside London think it's a lot. But I doubt I'm an average earner in London. 43 and still renting, no pension and no savings.*

I'm not anti-Tory because i'm anti-rich, it's because they take from the bottom to give to the top.

*(But I only had my first permanent job at 35...never be an archaeologist or try and be an actor; you'll die with nothing!!)

I can't believe that i'm the only one here who thinks that Gordon Brown comes across well in all three debates. Intelligent and articulate.

There are others Clarry - but some of the more vocal VT'ers are more transfixed by his smile and the pearly whites of Clegg and Cameron

and his ability to stifle the productive bit of our economy with pointless legislation and regulation, and also doing the Labours unthinkable of lauding over big business and also wasting literally billions on poorly negotiated PFI projects like University hospital Coventry, and wasted money like the child trust fund, which is a terrible misuse of public money.

but Gordon did save the world after all so I suppose we can forgive him for all this pointlessness.

"Intelligent and articulate" does not mean I have to agree with all that has happened under him.

Anyway, with a week to the elections I'm shocked at hearing absolutely nothing from my local councillors about the Local Government elections. Where have they all gone?

I can't believe that i'm the only one here who thinks that Gordon Brown comes across well in all three debates. Intelligent and articulate.

Quote from my Polish girlfriend watching yesterday:

Why is Gordon Brown the only one answering the questions properly? They might not be the right answers, but he's answering the questions.

Looks like Merv is trying to tell us we're screwed for a good 20 years perhaps even mrs bigot was correct when she said it would be 'tax tax tax for the next 20 years'

she did look a bit like mervyn king as well.hmmmmm

So he's saying whoever wins will only get one term then out for a long time??

Yes, I think there is a Discworld novel where Terry Pratchett says that one of the gretest curses in the Discworld is "May you live in interesting times".

It doesn't bode well indeed.

It's a Mandarin curse that he's nicked. Also used by sexy Morena Baccarin in "Firefly".

I posted an article on the previous page relating to a Parliamentary party report on the benefits of immigration, which appear to be little the report concludes.

There are hidden benefits - food, culture etc.

Not everything has to be measured in "what my pocket can make out of it".